Dead Giveaway (43 page)

She followed him as far as the door and turned on the porch light. "Do you want me to go with you?" she called after him, but he shook his head.

Allie didn't invite Joe in; she didn't want to be alone with him. The memories of the shooting that had occurred during her last stay at the cabin put her on edge. But she was convinced Joe had hired Hendricks to make Clay look bad, to make her suspicious of the Montgomerys, not to kill him. Hendricks had shot Clay on his own,
right?

"I talked to your mother," Joe said.

"After what you did at the farm, she was willing to speak to you?" Allie asked incredulously.

His expression became a study in mock empathy. "Like I told her, I feel terrible that she was caught up in that
nasty
business."

Allie clenched her jaw. "You seemed pretty gleeful to me."

"Only because it revealed Irene to be the whore that she is. You know what I think of the Montgomerys."

That wasn't all of it. Joe had been targeting Allie, too, reveling in the fact that she and her mother felt hurt and betrayed. Couldn't Evelyn see that?

"I still can't get over the fact that she told you I was here," Allie said. When she'd called Evelyn to check on Whitney, she'd mentioned where she was as a natural part of the conversation.

But she hadn't expected Evelyn to tell anyone, least of all Joe.

Obviously, her mother was more trusting than Allie was. But why wouldn't she be? She'd known Joe and his family for years and years and, like Dale, she believed Clay to be the only threat to the community.

Joe stuffed a wad of tobacco in his cheek and walked back to lean against the grille of his truck. "We had a really nice chat, Evelyn and I," he said. "I apologized for having to expose what Irene's done to your family, and she talked about the Montgomerys and how they've hurt so many people." It wasn't easy to make out his expression in the dark, but she saw a flash of teeth, as if he was smiling. "She talked about you, too, and your
confusion
over Clay right now. She's really upset about that, you know."

Allie wasn't willing to have this conversation with him. "Why are you here?" she asked bluntly.

"It's nice." He breathed deep. "Smell the pine, hear the cicadas."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Is this where you fucked Clay? In that bed?" He jerked a thumb toward the bed she'd 199

Brenda Novak

stripped, and she sensed a salaciousness in his interest.

"If you have something to say to me, say it," she said.

He seemed to give up badgering her, for the moment. "Hendricks called me."

She lifted her chin. "I thought he might."

"He said you wanted to ask him some questions."

"I do."

He spat at the spongy earth. "'Bout what?"

Allie felt cornered with the small cabin at her back. She stepped farther out so she could run if need be. "About you. You must know that or you wouldn't be here."

He took his time settling the chew in his cheek. "I didn't pay him to kill Clay, if that's what you think."

She considered possible responses. She'd wanted Hendricks to confess before she spoke to Joe. The money for that truck had to come from somewhere. But Joe's sudden appearance preempted the possibility of preparing for this confrontation. "Maybe you didn't hire him to shoot Clay. But you paid him to scare me, didn't you? To try and make me think it was Clay who was threatening me?"

He pushed away from the truck and moved into the sliver of lamplight cast through the open doorway. "No."

"Then it had to be your family."

His eyes turned cold and flat enough to raise the level of caution already surging through Allie's blood. "
Had
to be?" he said, speaking around the bulge in his cheek.

Joe had caused trouble in the past, usually when he was drunk. Although he didn't seem drunk now, the Montgomerys--and particularly Clay--had long been a sore subject for him. He seemed to have grown more bitter toward them as the years passed.

"Who else would want me to think Clay had something to hide?" she asked, edging toward her car in case she decided to make a dash for it.

"The whole town thinks Clay has something to hide," he said.

"So they
all
paid Hendricks to do what he did?" she countered.

Another stream of tobacco juice hit the ground as Joe cut off her retreat. "I told you, I didn't hire Hendricks to do
anything
. Neither did my family."

"Is that why you drove all the way here from Stillwater? To tell me you're innocent?"

"To tell you you're heading down the wrong path. I don't need you creating problems for me."

She mentally measured the distance to her car. Could she make it?

No, he'd be on her before she even opened the door....

"What could I do without proof?" she asked.

"You could try to convince my mother that I was involved."

Allie narrowed her gaze. "Don't tell me you're afraid it'll upset her. You're not that considerate."

He spat at her feet, barely missing her shoe. "She knows I hate the Montgomerys. With my luck, she'd believe you."

"So?"

"So that better not happen."

Why? Allie wondered. Because then she'd cut him off financially? Probably. He couldn't survive without his parents' support.

Allie was finally beginning to understand. But, as much as she didn't want to admit it, she 200

Brenda Novak

got the impression Joe might be telling the truth, at least about his involvement in the shooting. "If you didn't hire Hendricks, who did?" she asked skeptically.

"Think about it," he replied. "Who wants you to find Barker's killer even more than I do?"

"No one!"

He put a hand in front of her, ostensibly to lean against the post that supported the cabin's small overhang. But he managed to pen her in at the same time. "Wrong. Check my bank accounts, if you want to. I haven't paid Hendricks a dime. Why would I? We've got Clay by the balls already."

Allie shook her head. "Come on, Joe. The trial hasn't even started."

"We have another search warrant." His teeth flashed again. "This one's for the entire property--the house, the barn and outbuildings, the land. We won't leave a single inch of dirt unturned."

Allie went cold inside. Jed had just told her the Montgomerys had buried the reverend behind the barn, but his remains weren't there when the police searched before. Where had they been moved? She guessed what was left of Barker was still somewhere on the property. As bleak as the Montgomerys' outlook seemed, they had a better chance if the police couldn't prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there'd even been a murder.

"You didn't have the warrant a month ago," she pointed out. "And it bothered you that I wouldn't go after Clay, although I didn't have the evidence to justify it."

"It didn't bother me enough to waste two grand."

"Is that how much Hendricks was paid?"

"I'm guessing it was about that much."

Enough for a down payment, like her father said..."Still, whoever--" Suddenly, Allie fell silent. A snippet of conversation had popped into her mind:
I'll bet fifty, too. I'm expecting a big tax
refund.

Enough to spare two thousand dollars?

And then another snippet, from a different time and place:
Has the reward you posted for
information on the shooting turned up any leads?...No...None?...Not one.

True or merely self-preserving?

Could it have been Madeline? No! Clay's stepsister wouldn't do anything to make Clay look guilty. She defended him constantly.

But it was entirely possible that Madeline hadn't seen hiring Hendricks as a risk to her stepbrother. Clay had told no one he was coming to the cabin. After his call that Thursday night, even Allie hadn't been expecting him. Maybe Madeline had believed a mysterious scare would simply increase Allie's determination to prove Clay
wasn't
guilty.

Allie remembered the way Madeline had acted about the shooting. She'd been so upset, she'd called Allie almost daily that first week.

Because she was afraid it might happen again, as she'd said? Or because she felt responsible?

Do you know who did it yet, Allie?

"Oh, boy," Allie muttered.

"Now you're catching on," Joe said.

"You think it was Madeline."

"It
was
Madeline."

"Hendricks told you that?"

"I got it out of him eventually. He came to me, saying he was afraid you thought he'd shot 201

Brenda Novak

Clay, that because of the rumors Cindy's spreading about seeing your gun in my house, you thought it was
both
of us. I bet he was hoping I'd solve the problem by making sure you wouldn't be able to tell anyone else."

Allie felt a shiver of fear. They were completely alone. It wouldn't be hard for Joe to do just that.

"He acted as if he'd done me some kind of favor, planting Jed's hat up here," Joe went on.

"As if I
owed
him for dropping that cap in the woods."

"Why would Cindy say she saw my gun at your house if it wasn't true?"

"Because she hates me."

Covering her mouth, she mumbled through her fingers. "I can't believe Maddy did it."

"Call her and see for yourself. Tell her you've got proof it was Hendricks and that he's claiming it was her. See what she says."

Allie's phone was inside. She hesitated, because she didn't want to risk being cornered, but he handed her his.

She stared down at it for a moment, then dialed Madeline.

"Hello?"

"Maddy, it's Allie."

"Hi, Allie. What's going on?"

She glanced up at Joe. "I'm at my father's cabin with Joe Vincelli."

"Joe?"

"He says you hired Hendricks to scare me the night Clay was shot. Is that true?"

Silence. Allie waited, but there was only more silence.

"Maddy, is that true?" she repeated. But she knew from Madeline's lack of response that it was.

"I didn't mean for Clay to get hurt," she said, tears in her voice. "I didn't even know he'd be up there. He--he's always in town or at the farm."

Closing her eyes, Allie shook her head. "What were you trying to do?"

"I just--I was afraid you were giving up. I wanted you to keep looking. You're the only one who might be able to find my father, Allie. But...it was a mistake."

"You nearly cost Clay his life!"

She was sobbing openly now. "I feel so bad. I--I'm actually glad you know. I was going to tell you myself, but...I was so afraid Clay wouldn't love me anymore."

"Maddy, he'll always love you."

"I've lost too many people. And Hendricks! He's such an idiot. He thought Clay had spotted him, but even if Clay
did
see him I would never have agreed with firing that gun! Clay's my
brother.
"

Allie didn't know what to say. Madeline, in all her denial and confusion and desperation, had hired Hendricks to motivate Allie to solve the case. And Hendricks had shot Clay on his own, out of fear of discovery. "Joe's still here. I'll call you later, okay?"

Madeline didn't answer. She was crying too hard.

"See?" Joe said as she handed him his phone.

Allie ignored him. Lee Barker's life--and death--had affected so many people.

"So you're going to quit trying to pin it on me, right? Forget that bullshit of Cindy's and keep me out of it."

She was still collecting her thoughts when he said, "Because if you don't, you'll be damn sorry."

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Brenda Novak

"Is that a threat?" she asked.

"What do
you
think?"

"Madeline knows I'm here with you."

"So? Accidents happen. It'd be a real shame if your car was found in the bottom of a gully, wouldn't it? But these roads twist and turn something awful."

Joe's character had never been much to admire, but the disappointments and challenges of his life had turned him into a darker version of what he could've been. She knew Grace was sincerely afraid of him, that he'd probably given her reason to be.

"The truth is out," she said. "Why risk that kind of trouble?"

"Because I don't like anyone getting in my way."

He still saw her as an impediment to his revenge against the Montgomerys.

"And they wouldn't be able to prove anything," he added. "I'd make sure of that."

"You're not stupid enough to land yourself in jail when you already have the search warrant you've always wanted. If Clay killed your uncle, that should be enough, shouldn't it?"

He chewed, spat and chewed again. "You're right. The body's there, and I'm going to find it."

The sudden lightening of his tone released the tension between them. He didn't intend to hurt her. He didn't need to. He had the D.A. pressing charges against Clay and a search warrant that would most likely turn up the proof they were lacking--while she had nothing.

"You look sad." Joe bent his lanky body to make sure she could see his taunting smile.

"Don't tell me you finally realize that the man you've been protecting is really going to prison."

"Clay's innocent," she said stubbornly.

Joe laughed. "Face it, Allie. You lose." Grabbing her chin, he held it fast while he delivered a revoltingly wet, tobacco-tasting kiss.

"Get back!" She shoved him away, then grimaced as she wiped his saliva from her lips and cheek.

"How touching," he said, his hand over his heart. "You're saving yourself for Clay. You care so much about him. But if you think he cares about you, you're wrong. He's using you, babe.

Pure and simple. Beth Ann says he doesn't have a heart. Just a big dick."

Still laughing, he got in his truck and drove off.

As Allie watched him go, depression settled in, as deep as the surrounding darkness. She'd been wrong. The shooting wasn't connected to the Vincellis. Nothing she'd been chasing could help Clay.

Face it, Allie. You lose.
And so did the man she loved.

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23

W
hen Clay passed Joe on the winding road that led to the cabin, he didn't recognize him at first. It was too dark. But Joe's was the only vehicle he'd seen since leaving the highway, and the make and model soon registered, turning the unease Clay had been feeling into all-out panic. What was Joe doing up here?